MARVEL THOR MOVIE

The last three MCU movies (including Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home) are among the biggest global grossers of the previous eight months. Recent MCU movies are still pulling top-tier grosses. Katy (Awkwafina) and Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Marvel Studios' SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. However, in this environment, to quote Talladega Nights, if you’re not first, you’re last.

MARVEL THOR MOVIE

In a sane world, we’d be talking about how both Top Gun: Maverick ($618 million domestic and $1.24 billion-and-counting) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (the third biggest “no Iron Man and no Spider-Man' MCU movie ever) were both massive hits. And now Tom Cruise’s legacy sequel did to Doctor Strange 2 what Gladiator did to Mission: Impossible II (smaller grosses for the Russell Crowe epic notwithstanding) in May of 2000. If you recall, Spider-Man stole the buzz from Star Wars Episode Two: Attack of the Clones in May of 2002 and then Iron Man stole the buzz from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May of 2002. Third, Top Gun: Maverick has shockingly displaced the MCU sequels as the summer's official event movie(s).

Top Gun: Maverick turned the MCU into summer’s runner-up.

In 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a “disappointment” for only earning $411 million domestic and (sans Russia and China) $955 million global. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarök were unmitigated hits with $315-$389 million domestic and $854-$881 million worldwide, including over $100 million each from China. Heck, Spider-Man: Far from Home opened just after Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame ($2.8 billion) and still “only” grossed $390 million domestic and $1.131 billion global. Ant-Man and the Wasp right after Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.048 billion) and still grossed $621 million, including $125 million in China. That Black Panther grossed $1.346 billion and Captain Marvel grossed $1.28 billion in 20 does not mean that every solo MCU movie is a lock for $1 billion global. Second, the MCU has “fallen victim” to overblown expectations. The overall MCU is no more on the precipice of doom than it was when Avengers: Age of Ultron jumpstarted discourse on superhero fatigue by only earning $459 million domestic and $1.405 billion worldwide. However, the film is still likely to A) be one of the biggest grossers of the summer and B) earn about as much as did Thor: Ragnarok ($712 million not counting China and Russia) in 2017. I was not a fan of Taiki Waititi’s Thor sequel, and its mixed (for Marvel) reviews and soft (for Marvel, including a B+ Cinemascore) buzz indicate that audiences weren’t high on it either. The film’s 68% second-weekend drop caused quite a bit of online handwringing, and proclamations of doom for the MCU. Thor: Love and Thunder crossed $500 million worldwide on Monday, bringing its domestic total to $239 million domestic. (L-R): Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor and Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios' THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER.

Marvel thor